Some Italian goodies -- garden to kitchen

Our July, the weather historians tell us, was the coldest July since 1958. The tomatoes have been slow to grow, fruit, and ripen, as a result of the cool weather. But now we are getting some some wonderful varieties, and we're making the most of them.

Here we have a cocozelle squash, an Italian variety zucchino that is fleshier, with very few seeds. It marinates wonderfully into a salad, grills, or sautes. Delicious.

The tomatoes, picked today, include the varieties Black from Tula (down the center); Flamme, Moonglow, Sunset's Red Horizon, and Super Marmande (top to bottom on the left); and Sun Gold, Dagmar's Perfection, Hawaiian Pineapple, Pineapple, and Marmande (top to bottom on the right). We'll have some wonderful taste-test comparisons in our caprese salads over the next few days.

Meanwhile, the first San Marzano Redortas have been sliced, layered, and baked into Bella's special lasagna!